Planet of the Corporate Apes

Reading this story in the LA Times, I am vividly reminded of the film, Planet of the Apes, as well as countless stories of "superior" beings from other planets who try to take over the Earth. At least there are some people trying to protect the orangutan, but it is ultimately a paltry effort compared to what terrible things have occurred to the orangutan as a result of the Indonesian government's destruction of forests.

The Indonesian dictatorship was of course responsible for genocidal massacres of people in East Timor, as well as forcing peasants inside Indonesia off the land to live in squalor--so that a small elite of the nation could live at the level of upper class Westerners. See here and here.

This is where corporate dominated trade (the term "free" is propaganda, just as conservatives rightly say national health insurance is not "free" medical insurance) is connected to deforestration, animal endangerment, and the loss of jobs for human beings. How anyone can support a World Trade Organization where decisions are made in secret is beyond me--though Bush & Co. are quite comfortable with secret and crony government, as one follows the saga of Haliburton. See here and here.